Timeline (World of Warcraft)
This page follows the in-game timeline from the release of World of Warcraft through present day as it applies to the players. (After all, !) 2001 September 2 - World of Warcraft announcedWeb Archive - Fusion NET: 2004 . This was the longest-running login screen, being the login for two years and one month.]] Early in the year - World of Warcraft Beta testing November 23 - World of Warcraft launches in North America, Australia and New Zealand. * Starting level cap is 60 * Only Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor available at launch. * Starting races: ** Alliance: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome ** Horde: Orc, Troll, Undead, Tauren November 24 - WoWWiki launchedWikipedia: December 3 - WoWWiki first archived at Web.Archive.org (Internet Archive) December 18 - Patch 1.2.0 * Maraudon added 2005 February 11 - World of Warcraft launches in Europe March 7 - Patch 1.3.0 *Dire Maul added March 23 - The first legendary item ever to appear to players in the game drops, . It is immediately hotfixed out of the game. April 8 - Patch 1.4.0 *PvP Honor System May - The Leeroy Jenkins video becomes popularWikipedia: June 7 - Patch 1.5.0 *Battlegrounds introduced **Warsong Gulch **Alterac Valley July 12 - Patch 1.6.0 *Blackwing Lair added *Darkmoon Faire added September 13 - Patch 1.7.0 *Zul'Gurub added *Arathi Basin battleground added *Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza *Corrupted Blood begins as the result of a glitch in Zul'GurubWikipedia: October 28–29 - BlizzCon *''Burning Crusade'' announced October 10 - Patch 1.8.0 *Corrupted Blood fixed November 16 - World of Warcraft is featured in a question on the game show Jeopardy! *None of the three players knew the answer. November 23 - WoW Insider launches.WoW.com: 2006 . L to R: Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny.]] January 3 - Patch 1.9.0 *The Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj added *The Temple of Ahn'Qiraj added *Gates of Ahn'Qiraj event begins *Faction-Linked Auction Houses January - Blizzard comes under scrutiny by LGBT groups for prohibiting advertising a guild as being LGBT-friendly.Error Macro: January 23 - Medivh-US becomes the first server to open the Gates of Ahn'QirajAbout.com: March 28 - Patch 1.10.0 *High-Level Armor Set Upgrade Questlines *Quest Experience to Gold Conversion at Level 60 *Weather Effects *Linked Flight paths April - The "-50 DKP/More dots" Onyxia Wipe Animation becomes popular. June 20 - Patch 1.11.0 *Keyring *Naxxramas added July 7 - Wowhead website launched August 22 - Patch 1.12.0 *Cross-Realm Battlegrounds *World PvP Objectives September 11 - Burning Crusade announced to be released on January 16, 2007 October * Beta begins for Burning Crusade * World of Warcraft Trading Card Game released October 4 - The TV show South Park features a Warcraft-themed episode, Make Love, not Warcraft. December 5 - Patch 2.0.1 *Looking for Group Interface Tool *PvP Arenas December 14 - Burning Crusade cinematic trailer released 2007 January 9 - Patch 2.0.3 *Dark Portal Opens event **Kruul begins attacking places in Azeroth January 16 - The Burning Crusade expansion released *Level cap raised to 70 *Outland added * Draenei and Blood Elf races added *Eye of the Storm battleground added *Jewelcrafting profession added May 22 - Patch 2.1.0 *The Black Temple added August 3–4 BlizzCon *''Wrath of the Lich King'' expansion announced September 27 - Patch 2.2.0 *Voice chat introduced. October - Toyota's Four Wheels of Fury commercial airs, featuring a fictional truck mount ingame. November 13 - Patch 2.3.0 *Zul'Aman added *Guild Banks *Mudsprocket quest hub added to Dustwallow Marsh November 20 - Blizzard advertises World of Warcraft on television with ads featuring William Shatner and most notably Mr. T talking about his Night Elf Mohawk. 2008 January - World of Warcraft gets to 10 million subscribers globallyBlizzard Press Release March 25 - Patch 2.4.0 *Isle of Quel'Danas added *Magister's Terrace added *Sunwell Plateau added * The Shattered Sun Offensive begins. April 3 - Proudmoore-US becomes the first server to complete the Shattered Sun OffensiveWoW.com: July - Beta begins for Wrath of the Lich King August 21 - Wrath of the Lich King cinematic released. September 15 - Wrath of the Lich King release date announced to be November 13, 2008 October 14 - Patch 3.0.2 *Achievements *Inscription *Barbershop *Several changes were made to the gameworld to prepare for Wrath of the Lich King: **The original Naxxramas removed **Dalaran removed **Alliance boats rerouted **Stormwind Harbor added **New Horde Zeppelin Towers October 23 *The Zombie Infestation heralds the start of the Second Scourge Invasion November 10 *The Scourge begin regular attacks on Stormwind City and Orgrimmar November 13 - Wrath of the Lich King expansion released *Level cap raised to 80 *Northrend added *Death knight class added *Strand of the Ancients battleground added November 23 - All players logging in are awarded Baby Blizzard Bear and 2009 to accounts that merged before the deadline.]] April 14 - Patch 3.1.0 *Ulduar added *Argent Tournament added *Dual Talent Specialization Late April - a player is banned for exploiting the game after using a mistakenly-mailed Game Master artifact called .Examiner.com: May 15 - The Mountain Dew Game Fuel Choose Your Side promotion begins. August 4 - Patch 3.2.0 *Crusaders' Coliseum added *Isle of Conquest battleground added *Instance Lock Extension August 20 - The Mountain Dew Choose Your Side promotion ends. August 21–22 - BlizzCon 2009 *''Cataclysm'' expansion announced September 2 - Faction Change service offered. September 22 - Patch 3.2.2 *Onyxia's Lair revamped to level 80 October 12 - Announcement that all World of Warcraft accounts must be merged with Battle.net accounts.WoW.com: October 27 - Race Change service offered November 11, 12 - The deadline passes for account mergers with Battle.net for US, EU players. November 22 - All players logging in are awarded Onyxian Whelpling and December 8 - Patch 3.3.0 * Frozen Halls added * Icecrown Citadel raid added ** The Lower Spire is open at release. * Cross-Server Instance grouping * Improved Dungeon Finder 2010 . This led to the need for a massive graphical editing for Wrath of the Lich King to be approved.]] January 5 - The Plagueworks of Icecrown Citadel opens. January 19 - The Crimson Hall of Icecrown Citadel opens. February 2 - Patch 3.3.2 * The Frostwing Halls, the final wing of Icecrown Citadel, opens. * The Lich King encounter is implemented. February 12 - The People's Republic of China approves Burning Crusade for release. May 3 - The Friends & Family phase of the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm alpha begins. June 22 - Patch 3.3.5 in North America. * Real ID is implemented. June 30 - Closed Beta for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm begins. Patch 3.3.5 in Europe. * The Ruby Sanctum opens. July 6 - Blizzard announces their intention to have Real ID names visible when posting on the official forums.http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=25626109041 This resulted in a massive outcry against the idea, based primarily on concerns about privacy issues and potential harassment. July 9 - Due the overwhelming flood of criticism, Blizzard rescinds their plan to put Real ID names on the official forums.http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=25968987278&sid=1 August 10 - The People's Republic of China approves a heavily edited Wrath of the Lich King for release. September 7 - The first in-game events leading up into the Cataclysm expansion begin, with Operation: Gnomeregan ( Alliance) and Zalazane's Fall ( Horde). October 4 - Cataclysm release date announced to be December 7, 2010 October 7 - World of Warcraft reaches 12 million players October 12 - Patch 4.0.1 *Cataclysm Launcher Update *Reforging * Complete talent and ability overhaul for all classes * Removed from game: Emblems, Badges, Marks of honor October 17 - World of Warcraft Cataclysm cinematic trailer released. * Parts of the trailer were aired on television in the second quarter of the Dallas Cowboys/Minnesota Vikings football game on the same day. The commercial asked "Where will you be when the Cataclysm begins" October 22-23 - BlizzCon 2010 November 16 - Patch 4.0.3 * Preparation for the Shattering * Few visible changes November 23 - Patch 4.0.3a The Shattering *Hundreds of achievements, items, NPCs, and quests added or updated *Most Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor zones changed *New class and race combinations made available December 7 - Cataclysm expansion released *Level cap raised to 85 * Goblin and Worgen races added *New level 80+ zones added *Tol Barad World PvP zone added *Archaeology secondary profession added 2011 January 27 - Blizzard files complaints with the online service PayPal in an effort to make payment difficult for gold sellers. February 8 - Patch 4.0.6 * Class balance changes April 26 - Patch 4.1.0 * Re-opening of Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub as level 85 heroics * Class design changes * Profession trainers filled out in capitals June 28 - Patch 4.2.0 * Firelands is added * New Molten Front daily quest zone * New Avengers of Hyjal faction * Dungeon Journal * The 10-day Free Trial is replaced by the new World of Warcraft Starter Edition October 21-22 - BlizzCon 2011 * Mists of Pandaria announced November 20 - WoW's 7th Anniversary * Players receive a in-game mail with Celebration Package attached November 29 - Patch 4.3.0 * New and improved Raid Finder * Introduction of Transmogrifiers * New and improved Darkmoon Faire plus new zone: Darkmoon Island * End Time is added * Well of Eternity is added * Hour of Twilight is added * Dragon Soul is added 2012 March 20 - Mists of Pandaria closed beta announced. March 21 - Mists of Pandaria closed beta opens with Patch 5.0.1. March 29 - First of several waves of beta invites to primarily Annual Pass subscribers. May 24 - Non-Annual Pass players who expressed interest in Mists of Pandaria beta on their Battle.net account start getting beta invites. July 25 - Mists of Pandaria release date announced to be September 25, 2012. August 28 - Patch 5.0.4 on live servers. Systems pre-release patch and most of the expansion all in one. *Account-wide achievements, mounts, and pets *All races available to all players Qoennon|date=16 Aug 2012 17:06 UTC}} *Area of Effect looting *BattleTag support *Massive class changes **Specialization and talent revamp *Tons of new items *Some profession updates ** New battlegrounds and revamped dungeons *Cross-realm zones September 13 - Patch 5.0.5 on live servers. * Technically the patch that will be running when the expansion is enabled, but mostly bug fixes. September 17 - World Event: Attack on Theramore Isle Kaivax|date=28-Aug-2012 2:35 PM PDT}} Vaneras|date=28 Aug 2012 15:22 UTC}} * Available to level 85 characters for 1 week before expansion release September 25 - Mists of Pandaria expansion released in North America and Europe. *Level cap raised to 90. *Continent of Pandaria added. *Pandaren race added. *Monk class added. *Pet Battle System September 27 - Mists of Pandaria expansion released in Korean and Taiwan. November 27 - Patch 5.1.0 *New world PvP conflict and factions *Brawler's Guild *Item Level Upgrades *Battle pet upgrade system *New scenarios 2013 August 14 - Blizzard trademarks "The Dark Below". The concept of "The Dark Below" is not new to WoW, previously mentioned here: http://www.wowwiki.com/Dark_Below. With speculation over the past few months about the possibility of a Burning Legion expansion, players are convinced we will soon be descending into the dark depths of Azeroth! References World of Warcraft